Chapter 834: Conflict Intensifies (Part II)

"Optimus Prime, you are still young; the Decepticons are the most cunning race I have ever seen in my long life."

Sentinel Prime did not stop because of Optimus Prime's rebuttal; he shook his head, seemingly speaking with earnest advice, yet his tone grew increasingly stern.

"Deceitful, greedy, and bellicose—this is the nature branded into the very bones of the Decepticons. They cannot be trusted, and must never be trusted!"

"You are the Leader of the Autobots; you should understand your responsibilities even more, and know who our enemy is!"

Optimus Prime opened his mouth, but ultimately shook his head slightly and did not continue the argument.

He knew he could not persuade Sentinel Prime, and the other party was both the former Leader of the Autobots and his own teacher.

This dual identity destined that Optimus Prime could not, and would not, want to have a falling out with him!

But because of this, Optimus Prime's orders could no longer be earnestly implemented.

This emergency meeting ended on a sour note.

Although due to Optimus Prime's restraint, he and his teacher Sentinel Prime did not have a complete falling out.

Yet all the Autobots who attended this meeting felt it.

"The contradiction and conflict between the two Leaders are intensifying; this is not a good omen!"

It was not just the Autobots where the conflict was intensifying; in fact, on the Moon, because of the failure of Dirge and the others' operation, Megatron was also roaring in anger at this moment.

"Useless, useless trash, all of you are trash!"

Inside the incubation tank on the Nemesis ship where Megatron's head was housed, this supreme commander of the Decepticon Legion, upon learning that the Decepticon squad sent by Blitzwing had not only failed to eliminate Frenzy—who had once peered into his memories and caused him deep shame—

but had instead lost an Elite Warrior: Thundercracker.

Starscream was also in the spacious cabin where Megatron resided; his status within the Base had been coldly marginalized by Megatron immediately following the arrival of Blitzwing and the others.

Standing in the corner of the cabin, Starscream kept his head low as if being reprimanded, but inside, he was blooming with joy.

Since being rescued after the Mariana Trench Battle, because only his head remained, although Starscream had not personally attacked him out of fear that this Tyrant might still have other means of survival,

Megatron, now reduced to just a head, had been subjected to all sorts of petty sabotage by him over the past half-year.

Not to mention anything else, regarding the New Body and information alone, Starscream had thoroughly sabotaged Megatron.

The resources required for a Leader-class Warrior's body were difficult for even some high-ranking commanders of the Decepticon Legion to afford.

Starscream had been double-dealing; at least before Blitzwing and the others arrived, the resources collected for Megatron's New Body were very limited, and mostly restricted to basic metals and materials easily obtained on Earth.

Regarding information, Starscream had also completely blockaded Megatron.

The only one who could be considered his confidant and friend, Barricade, had been sent away by him to the Asteroid Belt to fetch materials for Megatron's New Body.

The reason for sending Barricade away was that Starscream understood Barricade too well.

It was true that he was his confidant and friend, but Barricade had always been equally loyal to Megatron.

In a sense, Barricade was a double agent.

He could serve Starscream wholeheartedly and obtain some of Megatron's intelligence for him.

Likewise, if Megatron needed it, Barricade would not hesitate to inform him of some of Starscream's intelligence.

Barricade's behavior might be seen as an out-and-out betrayal by humans.

But placed within the conspiracy-filled Decepticon Legion, hedging bets was just a common occurrence for Decepticons.

Moreover, Barricade had always been able to grasp that balance well; regardless of the intelligence passed to Starscream or Megatron, he would deliberately blur some classified or sensitive information, never touching the intolerable lines of either side.

Because of this, both Starscream and Megatron were reasonably satisfied with him.

But while making use of him, both sides were also guarding against Barricade in certain aspects.

For instance, the current Starscream, in order to completely block Megatron's sources of information after Soundwave's death, had found an excuse to temporarily transfer Barricade to the Asteroid Belt far from the Moon.

Having been secretly calculated by him, Megatron had indeed suffered a loss because of this.

From the battle in Las Vegas until now, he had been cut off from the outside world for over a year and a half.

Megatron's knowledge of the current situation on Earth should still be stuck at over a year ago.

Especially regarding his understanding of Frenzy; although Starscream did not know why Megatron hated him so much, thanks to his information blockade,

Megatron and the newly arrived Blitzwing and the others had all suffered a setback.

Blitzwing kept his head low, and Dirge was trembling slightly, terrified by the angry Megatron.

He had followed this Tyrant since the Guerrilla Force era and had witnessed with his own eyes how he used various cold and cruel methods to climb from a gladiator slave to his current position, bit by bit.

Although as the "fear atmosphere creator" on the battlefield, Dirge's greatest wish was to "be able to control fear."

But Megatron was the source of his fear; facing him, even though Megatron was now reduced to just a head, the mere lingering prestige of this Tyrant was enough to make him tremble uncontrollably.

"Dirge!"

Megatron had no intention of letting him off; although due to Starscream's information blockade, his current understanding of Frenzy's situation was limited.

But even if the opponent could become an Elite Warrior and had an old-school Decepticon like Onslaught behind him, with the combat power of Dirge and Thundercracker, they shouldn't have been beaten so miserably.

"Useless trash, I need an explanation!"

Dirge was shivering all over under his sharp gaze; catching a glimpse of Starscream on the side looking at him with schadenfreude, his anger flared up, and he said bitterly: "My Liege, we... were deceived by Starscream's intelligence. When... when Thundercracker and I... arrived at the location, we were suddenly faced with a long-prepared trap, and we were bombarded by a large number of electromagnetic weapons!"

Blitzwing and the others immediately cast their gazes onto Starscream in the corner, but unfortunately, before these Decepticons could make a move,

Starscream, who had long calculated the nature of this bunch of Decepticons, extended a hand with his palm facing upward, and immediately displayed the scene from not long ago where he had 'solemnly' warned Blitzwing and Dirge to Megatron.

"Master!"

Starscream bowed respectfully, "Before the Task, I had already solemnly warned them. Clearly, there are some Decepticons who did not take my warning to heart!"

Several cold snorts sounded almost simultaneously; amidst Megatron's angry roars, the internal contradictions of the Decepticons remained irreconcilable.

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